John vermeulen



(No Model.)

J. VERMEULEN.

METAL SLITTING MACHINE.

No. 369,@69. Patented sept. 6, 1887.

y, y, y, 'yi- UNrTED STAT- Es PATENT Grimes,

JOHN VERMEULEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METALmsLITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,669, dated September 6, 1887.

Application filed December 14, 1886. Serial No. 221,514.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN VERMEULEN, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal-Slitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of metalslitting machines in which the work is accomplished by means of rotary knives, and has for its object to 'compensatefor wear of the cutting-edges and provide for the free and easy discharge of the strips from the knives as they are slit from the sheet of metal thereby.

The improvement in the knives, which in this class of machines are mounted on two parallel shafts, each knife beingin width equal to the strips of metal to be cut and the edges of the set on one shaft overlapping those on the other shaft, consists in making them of two comparatively thin disks of steel with a washer, preferably oi cast iron, placed between them,

so as to hold them apart a distance equal to the width of the strips to be cut, and clamping this compound cutter by'means of a nut on a flanged sleeve. These sleeves are caused to rotate with the shaft by means of keyways and splines, but are free to slide longitudinally thereon, and theoverlapping edges of the two sets of knives are held together by screws fitted into the edges ofthe shafts, by the adjustment of which all wear is promptly compensated for, and the edges of allpthe knives, after being reground,arereadily`and simultaneouslybrought together with their sides in proper active eontact. The strips of metal slit from the sheet by each of the rotary knives tend to remain between the adjacent edges of the counter k nives and cause considerable drag to the strips as they are forcibly discharged therefrom, the side wear of theknives being to a great extent due to the friction of the edges of the strips thereon. To obviate this I place between the knives small rollers, arranged to bear on the central parts of the strips at or a little beyond where the knives act on the sheet of metal, thus bending or creasing the strips longitudinally, which action draws the edges of the strips together away from the sides of the knives, so that the strips are discharged therefrom without side friction. If the small bending or (No modeL creasing rollers have imparted a permanent set to the strips, and it is required that the strips of metal so cut shall be flat, they are caused to pass through a pair of plain rollers placed behind the rotary cutters.

To describe myinvention more particularly, I will now refer to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a sectional view of a metal-slitting machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the rotaryr knives; and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the rotary knives, showing the action ofthe creasingrollers on the strips as they are cut.

The main frame a consists of side pieces of ordinary construction, provided with suitable bearings for the rotary cutters and iiattening rollers. The two sets of rotary cutters Aare similar in construction, comprising the shafts b and b', having journals c and c at their opposite ends, and flanged sleeves d and d,which constitute the journals, at their other ends. On the bodies of these shafts b and b are fitted a series of flanged sleeves, eand c andf and f', secured thereto by splines and key-seats, so as torotate therewith. The sleeve-journals d and d' are also splined to the shafts. rlhe end sleeves, c and e', are further secured to the shafts by set-screws or suitable means, so as to be rigidly held as regards longitudinal movement; but all of the other sleeves are free to slide on the shafts. On these sleeves e and e' and f and f are fitted the rotary cutters, composed of the steel disks g and g, which constitute the cutting-edges, andthe central washers, lt and h', made of cast-iron or other suitable metal,and nutsi and i,f1tted on the sleeves, clamp the cutters and washers rigidly against the angesofthese sleeves c and cand fand f.

When the two sets of rotary cutters are placed in working position, as shown at Fig. 2, the sides ofthe cutters g and y' are forced tegether, so as to properly act on the material Ato be cut up by means ofthe screw-boltsj and j', screwed into the opposite ends of the shafts b and b', respectively, the screw j acting against the washer 7c, which bears against the end of the sleevebearing d, the fiange of said sleevebearing being in contact with the cutter-sleeve The other screw, j', acts in asimilar manner on the cutter-sleeve f', but has a gear-wheel,l,

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4placed between its washer k and the sleevebearing d. rIlhe gear-wheel Z is splined on the shaft b and meshes into the gear-wheel Z', secured to the end of the shaft b.

As there is one knife less on the shaft b than on the shaft Z2, the collars Z2 Z2 are placed thereon to fill up the space between the bearings. This arrangement may be departed from to suit the particular requirements of any case, as would readily occur to the manufacturer; and it will be observed that the steel disks are omitted from the outsides of the end cutters on the shaft Z2, there being no counter-cutting edges therefor on the shaft b. These cutters are easily and cheaply made and their cuttingedges set together to a nicety, so as to cause them to make clean cuts in the material acted upon. They can be easily taken out for sharpening and replaced and reset with their cutting-edges again brought together in perfect operating adjacency simply by the manipula tion of the two screws j and j. p

To insure the free delivery of the strips from the rotary cutters bending or creasing devices are arrangedto bear on the strips as cut,which preferably consist of small rollers m and m', having bearings at the ends of the fingers n and fn', which are secured to bars fixed across the frame at the entrance side of the rotary cutters, and pass between the rotary cutters bearing on the strips of metal slit thereby, so

. as to bend or crease them longitudinally, as

shown at Fig. 3, in which the heavy lines represent cross-sections of the strip so bent. It is evident that by thus bending crei-easing the strips they are reduced in width and their edges drawn away from the sides of the cutters g and g', leaving them free to be discharged without resistance and without any rubbing action on the sides of the cutters.

After the strips leave the rotary cutters they are directed to the pair of plain rollers p p by the guide q. These rollers remove the bend or crease from the strips, so that they leave the machine dat. Motion is imparted to the rotary cutters through the medium of the pinion @which meshes into the wheel r', secured to the end of the shaft b. Said pinion r also drives the flattening-rollers p p by meshing into the wheel s, secured to the shaft of the lower roller, p.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. Rotary cutters forslitting-machines comprising the following elements in combination:

a ianged sleeve, two cutting-disks placed onv the sleeve, a washer placed between the disks, and anut screwed on the sleeve, between which and the fiange of the sleeve the cutting-disks and the washer are held, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a slitting-machine, in combination, two parallel shafts, a set of rotary cutters fitted to slide on and rotate with each shaft with their edges overlapping, the opposite end cutters of cach set being rigidly secured to their respective shafts, sleeve-bearings fitted on the other ends of the shafts, and adj usting-screws fitted in the ends of the shaft to act against the sleeve` bearings, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a slitting-machine, in combination, t-wo parallel shafts, two sets of rotary cutters fitted t0 slide longitudinally on and rotate with the shafts, each cutter composed of a flanged sleeve, two cutting-disks, a spacing-washer, and a holding-nut, and screwsin the ends ofthe shafts for forcing and holding the edges of the two sets of rotary cutters together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a slitting-machine, the combination, with two sets of rotary cutters having their cutting-edges overlapping, ofbending or creasing devices arranged to bear on the central parts of the strips at or a little beyond where the knives act on the sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a slitting-machine, the combination, with two sets of rotary cutters having overlapping cutting-edges, of bending or creasing devices arranged to bear on the central parts of the strips at or a little beyond where -the knives act on the sheet, and a pair of flatteningrollers, between which the bent or creased strips pass as they leave the rotary cutters, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. Ina slitting-machine, in combination, two sets of rotary cutters having overlapping cutting-ed ges, fingers arranged to extend between the cutters, and bending or creasing rollers fitted in the ends of the fingers and arranged to bear on the central parts of the strips at or a little beyond Where the knives act on the sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a slitting-machine, in combination, the shafts b and b', s1eeve-bearings d and d', flanged sleeves e and e'andfandf, cutting-disks!) and g,washers h and h', nuts t' and t', screws j and j', and washers k and lc', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a slitting-machine, in combination, the shafts b and b', sleeve-bearings Z and d', flanged sleeves @and eandfandf, cutting-disks g and g', washers hand h', nuts 'Z andi', screws j and jf, washersc and 7c', bending or creasing rollers m and m', and fingers n and n', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In a slitting-machine, in combination, the shafts b and b, sleeve-bearings d and d', flanged sleeves e and e and f and f', cutting-disks gand g,washers handit', nuts t and t', screws j and j', washers k and k', bending or creasing rollers m and m', fingers n and it', and flattening-rollers p and p', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

lIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at New York, county and State of New York, this 6th day of October, 1886.

JOHN VERMEULEN.

Witnesses:

S. STEINFELD, H. D. WILLIAMS.

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